Tornado
by StarlightGlow
Summary: Missing Battle Moment. Ron manages to come to many conclusions about his life, including one about a certain bushy haired muggleborn. "This was no longer a war for a better world...it had become a war of survival in a disintegrating world."


**A:N/ http[]www[]youtube[]com/[]watch?v=6Pc2A66m7Zg**

**Should definitely listen to ^^^ that song while reading this. It was my inspiration hence the title :P Just take out the brackets that sort of look like squares and replace with fullstops.**

**FYI, this is very Ron centric. Don't like, well for one thing you're an idiot since he's easily the best and one of the most complicated characters in the series so he should be appreciated more, but also don't carry on reading beyond this point.**

**Summary: Missing Moment that takes place in the battle. While accepting the fact his best friend is now dead, Ron comes to many conclusions about his life...including one that involves a certain bushy haired muggleborn.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Tornado<span>

Spells were flying everywhere. They collided with everything in their path, not caring whether it was a human or an object. Explosions could be heard in every direction accompanied with tormented screams or cackles of satisfaction. Parts of the walls were collapsing, the rubble occasionally burying someone in its wake or knocking them unconcious. Various objects were shattering, whether it be a small vase or a statue it did not matter, because both could cause damage. And that was something that needed to be avoided at all costs. One simple scratch that could break a person's concentration just for a moment could easily result in death.

For this was no longer a war for a better world, that may have remained at the back of some people's minds but what it had become was far worse. It had become a war of survival in a disintegrating world.

No one knew what would become of this world now that their true hope had perished. Harry Potter had died at the hands of Lord Voldemort. 'The Chosen One', 'the Boy Who Lived' or to some just 'Harry' was gone. There seemed to be no hope left. Lord Voldemort would inevitably become their new leader, but it was made clear that it certainly wouldn't happen without a fight. The strong hearted were positive of that. It was for this reason many were still fighting.

One person who resolutely believed in that was Ronald Weasley. He hadn't spent the past year (or to be exact seven years) battling for a better world only to have it taken away in a few seconds. He was going to fight for this world or die trying.

Ron was one of the few truly selfless people in this battle since he no longer cared about his own life. Despite how much he hated it, what Harry had taught him by welcoming death's arms was that you shouldn't fear death. If you did fear it, you would become the one thing that Ron truly loathed with every fibre of his being at that particular moment in time. You'd become a monster, you would become Tom Riddle.

With this hatred in mind, Ron managed to stupefy the Death Eater he had vigirously been battling causing him or her to shoot back into a wall where they crumpled into an unconcious heap. Ron barely had enough time to wipe the sweat from his forehead before another Death Eater was upon him and as he recognised who it was, the blood ran cold in his veins.

"Another Weasley, eh? Reckon I can get rid of two of you in one night?" Rookwood taunted, grinning at him sickeningly.

Whatever effect Rookwood had been hoping this would have on Ron, it certainly didn't happen. Maybe he expected him to stand in shock at the sight of his brother's killer or cower away in fear from not wanting to meet the same fate. Instead, an animalistic rage ran through him that he had never experienced before. It was so powerful that Ron's wand practically burst with magic as if it had come to life with a tumultuos roar. Rookwood's wand flew out of his hand as he crashed back into another one of Voldemort's followers. Ron had just managed a small smile at his accomplishment when he heard it,

"HARRY! HARRY – WHERE'S HARRY?"

Hagrid's deafening bellows seemed to echo around the Great Hall and for that moment, everything slowed down. Was it possible? Could Harry still be alive? A dead body hardly moves out of its own accord, so it could be true. Unless somebody had moved him themselves. Had someone thought it worthy for Harry to be buried properly? After all, that was the very least he deserved. If only he could have been buried at Godric's Hollow along side his parents, Ron somehow knew that would have been what Harry would have wanted. To be with the people he had always so longed to know but cruelly never could. That would have meant more to him than anything. Even if it was in death.

Ron made the mistake of lingering on his thoughts too long, meaning Rookwood was now back on his feet with his wand in his hand. He glowered at Ron with an intensity only cold blooded killers could and shot a curse straight at him. Ron raised his wand a second too late and he was positive he was about to feel an unimaginable amount of pain when, miraculously, a shield charm formed in front of him causing the curse to ricochet. He wondered briefly if it was possible that he had done it unconciously, until he saw George and Lee by his side.

George had a murderous look in his eyes that could only be satisfied with revenge, and it was alarmingly clear that nobody else was going to suffer at the hands of Rookwood tonight. Lee shared a similar look as the pair of them forced Ron behind them. George briefly glanced at Ron and he understood immediately. This wasn't his fight, it was George's.

Rookwood didn't waste a second more and started shooting one curse after another, not caring if they met his targets while George and Lee fought back fiercely. Ron was about to go help some others when he heard George shout at him,

"Bellatrix - after Ginny, Hermione and Luna!"

Ron had sped off after hearing the first word, knowing whatever came after it wasn't going to be good. He didn't think. He just forced his way through the crowd, with his eyes pealed for any sign of Ginny, Hermione or Luna.

He couldn't deny that unconciously he was fearing for one more than the others. Not because he loved them any less, but because they had not suffered under Bellatrix's hand before. He had heard _her_ suffering. Those anguished screams still plagued his mind night after night. They were still raw in his memory like the blood in a fresh wound. It was as if the blood was running all over his body now, as all went silent around him and all he heard was her torture.

He blasted a random curse at a Death Eater he saw in his peripheral vision that clearly thought they had got him with his back turned. That Death Eater had made the same mistake Rookwood had made though. They had underestimated him, assuming he was just Harry Potter's mere sidekick and would fall when he did. But he wasn't just a sidekick, he was far much more then that and they had failed to understand that. As they had failed to understand that nobody, _nobody_ got in the way of Ronald Weasley when it came to protecting the people he loved.

He had never felt more elated at seeing the long, straight ginger hair that belonged to his sister. She was fighting, looking as strong and determined as ever as she battled alongside Luna against Macnair. It must have been the first time Ron had ever seen her without her usual dreamy disposition, she didn't look particularly angry but just completely focussed in what she was doing. He expected to see the remaining one he had so dearly been searching for, but she wasn't there.

An ice cold hand similar to a Dementor's dug its sharp claws into his heart briefly until there was a clearing and he saw her. Her bushy hair was flying everywhere as she twisted and turned shooting spells like a fearless warrior. She looked relatively unharmed, aside from the branded mark on her arm that had been made weeks before. The scarred word 'Mudblood' etched into her skin had at first seemed horrific but now she was wearing it as if it were a badge of honour.

Relief washed over him when he saw Bellatrix was nowhere near them and was actually battling Kingsley and Dawlish. Even more relief ran through him when he saw Hagrid pick Macnair up and throw him across the room. Ron wasted no time in hurrying over to Hermione and before he could stop himself he had thrown his arms around her, crushing her body against his. Her arms instinctively wrapped back around him and fingertips pressed into his back so deeply it was almost painful. She buried her head in his chest and breathed in an unsteady breath, causing him to unconciously tighten his hold on her and rest his head on top of hers.

The overwhelming urge to close his eyes and lose himself in the moment was horribly tempting, but the rational part of him knew how idiotic it would be to do that in the middle of a war. It seemed as if Hermione was thinking along the same lines as she reluctantly pulled out the embrace.

"You've got to get out of here!" He snapped abruptly, grasping her upper arms and she looked at him in disbelief.

"No! I haven't come this far just to-" She started angrily, only to have him interrupt.

"Stay with me then." He said, his heart pounding in his ears as he cupped her face in his hands. He ran his thumb delicately over a black eye blooming on her skin and held back on asking how she had got it, knowing there wasn't time. He could have sworn her eyes were filling with tears but he didn't have time to dwell on it as she nodded vigirously, rendered incapable of speech from how easily he gave in.

Something caught her eye over his shoulder and he swiftly turned around, hit Dolohov in the chest with a curse holding so much power he flew across the room. He quickly turned his attention back to her and saw her looking at him awestruck. A grin broke through her features and a tear seeped out of her eye.

"You're brilliant." She stated, and somehow he managed to return her genuine smile. He didn't question how he could possibly have such a positive emotion, given everything that had happened. Instead he chose to remain content with the fact that if he were to die that night, at least he would know what it would have felt like; to have Hermione by his side the way he always wanted her to be.

Before he could think better of it, he swooped down claiming her lips once again in a tender brief kiss. Like their embrace, it only lasted a few seconds but that was all he needed. When he pulled away, he took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers and together they fought against the evil, at one another's side.

They worked remarkably well as a couple. They were strengethened by eachother as if alone they had just been parts and now they were whole. If Hermione's curse missed then Ron's would succeed instead, if Ron was unaware of an oncoming curse, Hermione would put up the necessary shield charm and if for a moment it seemed as though one of them would get hit, the other wouldn't have given a second thought about taking the blow instead.

They had both just managed to fight off Yaxley, when Ron saw him. Or _it _rather, as that was what he thought he was. Greyback had caught sight of them both and had obviously recognised them instantly. Hermione followed Ron's acidic gaze and let out a small gasp. Greyback was making his way towards them and Ron moved so he was standing protectively in front of Hermione.

"Ron..." Hermione said cautiously, seeing the complete look of disgust and contempt in his features.

"Go find Ginny. Stay with her. This bastard's mine." Ron snarled, and for once, Hermione didn't question him. She understood him in the way that Ron had understood George earlier. This was something Ron needed to do. She gave his hand a squeeze before leaving to find Ginny, which didn't take long to her horror. Ginny and Luna were busy battling Bellatrix and Hermione sprinted over.

Not a single rational thought ran through Ron's brain as he tore apart the people in his way to Greyback and bellowed a disarming spell at him. All he knew was that he would be damned if the girl he loved and cared for would meet the same terrible fate that Lavender had met earlier that night.

The disarming spell did not have the effect intended though and Greyback appeared in front of him looking incredibly smug. Ron's hand tightened around his wand, making his knuckles turn white as he saw blood dripping from Greyback's lips. He looked behind Ron and grinned down at him.

"Pretty Mudblood girl. Was gonna have some fun with 'er."

"Confringo!" Ron snapped, but Greyback had been expecting it and ducked. What he hadn't expected was the curse to hit a particularly large window behind him causing it to shatter to pieces. For the second time that night, a shield charm appeared in front of Ron as the glass shards scratched and stabbed at Greyback.

"All right there Ron?" Neville greeted. "Thought you could do with some help. This one's going to pay for what he did."

Sparks of red shot out Neville's wand as he said this and Ron's eyebrows raised, having never heard such indignation in his tone before. Greyback stood up and the battle commenced between the three of them. It seemed hard to believe, that Greyback still had the upperhand against the two young wizards. But with his abnormal half-wolf, half-human state Ron and Neville's curses simply rebounded off his tough skin. So while the pair were trying to protect themselves, they knew their attempts were futile, but they refused to give up.

"Want to know something ginger? When your Mudblood was thrashing about as Bella tortured her-"

"Incarcerous!" Ron cried, and ropes flew out his wand, wrapping around Greyback's arm. The sheer intensity of his spell was strong enough that the ropes kept a hold on him but since they weren't around Greyback's wand arm, it didn't really have an effect. However, it did give Ron an idea.

He shouted the spell again and this time aimed at his legs. Neville caught on quickly and did the same, causing Greyback to fall back with a tangled set of tight ropes bound around him. Ron and Neville then simultaneously stupefied him and with being caught unaware as well as the dual charm, they managed to knock him unconcious. Ron hurried over to where Greyback lay and tossed the wand out of the window. Neville looked momentarily conflicted as if he wanted to ask what had happened to Hermione but quickly thought better of it. Instead he nodded at Ron and quickly ran off to assist Dean.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!"

Ron would have recognised that voice anywhere, despite the fact he had never heard it hold as much fury as it had been.

"OUT OF MY WAY!"

He saw his mother rush towards Bellatrix firing curse after curse at her and he rushed forward to assist her along with some other people but she held them back.

"No!, Get back! Get _back_! She is mine!"

Ginny, Hermione and Luna backed away so they were with the crowd now forming around the duel. Hermione's gaze found his and she wasted no time in forcing her way over to him, breaking the crowd apart in order to get to him. He grasped her hand in his and looked over at the duel. Seeing Bellatrix's faltering smile, he knew who had won from that point on.

He glanced down at Hermione and noticed how a big chunk of her hair had been singed away from a narrowly missed curse. Her eyes were glued on the duel, looking fearful and full of pride at the same time so Ron's concerned look went unnoticed.

_Just say it_, he thought. There was honestly no point in holding back anymore. It had been a miracle thay they had managed to survive this far and there was no telling on how much time they had left. But a small part of him stopped himself. Not because he feared her rejection, on some level he knew she felt something similar. He just didn't want to tell her like this. There was still the possibility of them living through this and he would much rather tell her in unpressurised circumstances, on his own terms.

At the same time though, he did want her to know how he felt but that seemed impossible without saying actual the words.

She must have felt his intense gaze on her since she turned to look at him. He couldn't have explained to anyone how he knew or how either of them were capable of communicating by only using their eyes. Perhaps after so many years of knowing eachother, they didn't need to tell eachother how they felt because somewhere deep down inside of them, they knew. Maybe they just needed that kiss to make them realise it.

It didn't really matter how it was possible because in that moment, Ron knew that Hermione felt exactly the same as he did.

She gave him a reassuring smile which he returned as he reveled in knowing that Hermione Granger was in love with him. The moment however was ruined as they heard an explosion of victorous applause and an unmistakable scream of agony.

Bellatrix was dead, in the same way that all of Ron's self doubt about how Hermione felt for him now was.

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><p><strong>A:N I decided to end it here since we pretty much know exactly what happens after this point and there's no real way of much R/Hr interaction occurring after. **

**I tried to stick to canon as much as possible in this so it could have seemed plausible. I personally think something like this could have happened (obviously, why else would I have wrote it?) but who knows? Maybe we'll get more info about R/Hr through Pottermore - which I failed at trying to get into early in case anyone's wondering...**

**Anyway, hope you liked it! Reviews are appreciated.**


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